WAR veterans from Wrexham will be making a pilgrimage to the battlefields of Normandy thanks to a £5,000 grant.

The former troopers were part of the D-Day landings on the coast of France during World War II.

Funding from the Big Lottery will allow members of the Wrexham Normandy Veterans Association, all of whom are over 80, to take a six day trip to the battlegrounds and cemeteries.

Chairman Edward Edwards, was among the thousands of soldiers to land in Normandy in June 1944. He welcomed the money but said he would not be taking the trip.

He said: “The main reason why I don’t want to go is because I’m a very sensitive person, and when I’d see those graves it would turn me over straight away, and that would spoil my visit.

“But not everyone is as softhearted as I am and many of the group members feel it is important for them personally to go back to pay their respects.”

Sixty-five years on, the veterans will be reunited with friends and relatives at D-Day remembrance events, and will be able to pay their respects to those who lost their lives.

British casualties on D-Day have been estimated at approximately 2,700 with the total Allied casualties believed to be around 10,000.

Mr Edwards said: “I did feel rather scared, I must admit. When you arrive and see bodies floating in the water and all that it’s not very nice, but you’re trained mentally in the Army for it not to affect you too much.”